Man United take on Brentford in gameweek two of the Premier League and manager Erik ten Hag will be under massive pressure before this tie.
United suffered a 1-2 loss last weekend at the hands of Brighton and in that match, Victor Lindelof and Anthony Martial were not fit to make it to the matchday squad.
There were reports that the duo will be fit and available for selection against the Bees but the manager has revealed that they are not likely to be ready for Saturday’s game as well.
“It’s still the same[in terms of injuries]. So, he had a good training week, I thought he played a little bit longer than half an hour [against Brighton], I would say he now has two half a games,” the manager said in his pre-match press conference.
“The starting XI, we will see tomorrow. I, of course, have made my decision but I [will] keep it.”
What will the Man United manager do now?
Lindelof missed the Brighton game altogether while Raphael Varane was sat on the bench but this weekend, Varane should be fit enough to start so the defence will not be a problem for the manager.
However, with Martial set to miss out, Erik ten Hag will be under major pressure in terms of who to select for the centre-forward’s position.
Last weekend, it was Christian Eriksen who led the line in the absence of Martial while Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench but against Brentford, the manager cannot take the risk of keeping CR7 on the bench.
The Eriksen gamble clearly did not pay off and with someone like Ronaldo in the squad, ETH cannot overlook him every week. He’s someone who can score goals and it’s goals that Man United need right now.
Ronaldo might not be fit to play the full 90 minutes but the manager will definitely hand him a start which means Eriksen will probably move back to the bench.
